Pond Boss Forums INTRO Questions & Observations artificial streams

I was recently at cabela's in Fort Worth and really liked the way they had built an artificial stream going into their pond. I would assume it would improve the overall health of the pond through aeration and water destratafication. Have any of you built such a stream going into your pond?

Sounds expensive to recycle pond water through a pump and send it down stream and back into the pond. I don't think it would aerate nearly as well as your typical aerator working from the bottom.

It definitely would look prettier and that's why a retailer with plenty of cash can do it. But, for your typical pond owner, it doesn't sound like a viable solution.

I have built a stream/waterfall. I think it turned out great considering It was my first. I already had a pump which I use to water the yard trees and garden. I simply piped it using poly pipe to the top of the waterfall and use a hand valve to turn the waterfall on or off. It circulates back into the pond. In my case the project started as a waterfall, but the elevation was not steep enough after the first 3 feet using the bank of the pond so it turns into a stream. I used large flat sandstone slaps layered on top of each other. I built a small stream that spans about 10 feet beyhond the 3 feet drop and used bolders to create another small waterfall at the top and made it look like a natural spring flowing out the edge of a rock outcroping and into the stream. The stream bed was made from flat sandstone and dyed concrete was added to the mortar between the rocks. stream is 2 foot wide and fed with a 3000 gph pump 1-1/2 pipe with a pvc manifold made of 1 inch 3 outlets to spread water across the waterfall I then scatter gravel from a real creek in the back of my property to give it a realistic look. Professionals use pond liners, but I did not because it is very short and built on the bank of the pond, anywater lost will simiply go back into the pond anyway. If I can find some pic's I will post. I am currently working on a water plume I intend to make it out of rustic timber and mimic a gold or silvermine. The flume is going to be about 2 feet sq x 32 foot long. water should cascade about 6 feet into the pond. Another stone waterfall I built below my 12" spill pipe from my front pond into the one next to my house has not held up (300 acre watershed huge waterflow when at peak. I beleive it would work but will take very huge rocks and require large machinery to stack inplace. Good luck

I am pondering a similar idea for my pond. I was thinking about making a several hundred gallon shallow (2ft) pond ten to fifteen feet from the high water mark on the big pond. Pump water from the main pond into the small holding tank and have the overflow trickle back down into the main pond via small stream and cascade. Figured it might be a cool sanctuary to raise some freshwater shrimp, crawfish, minnows, etc with out the BG and Bass getting them before they can grow or reproduce. Any comments or suggestions?

I hadn't thought of building a forage pond with it but that sounds like a great idea. Please post any pictures you may have. Thanks for the ideas.

The little pond won't be enough to supply a steady source of food for the main pond but should provide an occasional snack to supplement the diet of my BG and Bass (maybe trout). Plus it will be a neat little place to net some live bait once in a while. The stream itself will probably also end up with some nymphs growing in it which is another food source. It's sounding better and better the more I think about it.